Hey, Knitters and Crocheters,
Happy New Year! At the beginning of 2015, Knitcircus Yarns was still in my basement and now we have our beautiful Studio and Store! A lot can change in a year, so we’re getting out our crystal balls and gazing into what we think the new year will bring. This list will mix my and Amy’s personal knitting, events and collaborations we plan for Knitcircus Yarns and general innovations and tools we’re excited to try in the coming months.
All of our efforts right now point toward Vogue; it’s coming in just a couple of weeks! It’s a huge step for us; the first time we’ve shown on the East coast, the first time we’ve flown to a show, first time shipping all of our yarn. We’re so excited to meet east coast knitters and have you get to see our yarn in person. We’re also thrilled to be the only place at the show people can order Stella Lighting lamps.
- Crocheting!
Now that we have a yarn store, we want to make it a Crochet-Friendly shop this year. Katie is already working on our first crocheted store sample.
- Spinning.
We just started carrying roving, and from now on, all of our new colors and collections will include roving along with the already-spun yarns. We anticipate expanding from one kind of roving to several this year, and are looking forward to participating in Spinzilla this October! We’re hatching plans for Spinzilla events in the Studio Store and Ravelry group. Maybe Jaala will finally learn to spin..
- Mystery KAL’s
One of our favorite designers Susanna IC has a Winter Mystery KAL starting in just a couple of weeks! We were thrilled to work with Laura Nelkin on her Mystery KAL for the M Club last fall, and can’t wait to see what designs she’ll create this year. We had so much fun collaborating with Anna Dalvi on the Lieutenant’s Heart pattern, and she always hosts stunning KAL’s for lace shawls. Lee Meredith‘s Twitter Mystery KALs definitely broke some new ground; her new VIP Club includes 6 hat patterns as mini Mystery KALs along with other treats. And of course, Stephen West’s Mystery KALs are always a hoot.We hope to have time to participate in some MKALs this year, but even if time gets short, we’ll watch them unfold with glee. We may bring back the Knitcircus summer shawls KALs from a couple of summers ago, since they were so much fun….
- Amy’s Going to Iceland
She’s been to Scotland and Ireland; now Amy’s leading a tour to the gorgeous and yarn-friendly island. All of the knitters we’ve known who have visited love it.
- Carol Sulcoski‘s new book: Knitting Ephemera; released soon.
Indy dyer, designer and Yarn Market News writer Carol Sulcoski has a new book chock full of knitting history, tidbits and little-known facts. Amy and Jaala are likely to pepper the Knitcircus Podcast with some of these little nuggets throughout the year…
- Susan B. Anderson‘s New Book: Kids’ Knitting Workshop
Delightful designer, teacher, knitblogger and author Susan B. Anderson has come out with a wonderful new book for new knitters or people who would like to share our skills. We know the teaching tips and projects will help us as a community to reach out and create more knitters in the world!
- Meghan Babin is the new editor of Interweave Knits magazine. We’re looking forward to seeing her style and which direction she steers the magazine, always a knitting world leader.
- Cabled Knits
Jaala keeps feeling the pull towards cables lately. She would love to improve her cable skills, start and finish a cabled sweater , make herself a cabled cowl and hat set, maybe out of the Renoir Impressionist yarn, Watermelon kettle dye, or Pigeon Chromatic Gradient. Check out her Cabled Knits Pinterest Board for inspiration.
- Brioche
Amy’s go-to technique these days is brioche; she can knock out a project like the Chromatic Cowl without even thinking about it! She’s a big fan of Nancy Marchant‘s brioche techniques and books.
We always love this indy show, which just gets better every year! We look forward to seeing you Chicago-area folks there.
- Studio and Store Trunk Shows
Now that we have a store, we can showcase yarns and accessories from other small companies, farms and little-known gems of makers. Watch for trunk shows this year for DreamFarm Jacob yarns, Sophie’s Toes hand dyes, Space Cadet Creations and more! If you know of someone you’d like to see in the store, please let us know.
Watch for some fun contests and events around October 17th to celebrate yarn!
What are you looking forward to this year? Please comment and let us know!
Happy 2016,
Jaala, Amy and the Knitcircus Crew